What a home's permit history reveals
Before you spend $400+ on an inspection, the public record already tells you a lot. A home's permit history — read against its age — predicts which systems are tired and which were recently handled.
What permits tell you
- Recent permit = recently addressed. A 2021 re-roof or a 2022 panel upgrade means that system likely isn't your problem for years.
- No permit + old house = aging. A 1925 home with no electrical permit on record probably still has original wiring. No roofing permit in 30 years? Budget for a roof.
- Open or expired permits are a real risk — unfinished or uninspected work you could inherit.
- Fire/structural permits are material history worth understanding.
Read it against typical service life
Permits only mean something next to age. Useful rules of thumb: asphalt roofs ~20–25 years, water heaters ~10–12, furnaces/AC ~15–20, electrical panels ~40–60. Galvanized supply piping (common pre-1960) and knob-and-tube wiring (pre-1950) are known concerns. If a system is past its life and there's no permit suggesting it was replaced, expect to deal with it.
The catch
Permits are a partial proxy: unpermitted work is invisible, and pulling habits vary by owner and city. It's a strong signal, not proof — and never a substitute for an inspection.
Free tool: see what work homes in a Chicago neighborhood most commonly permit — check an address →
We do this for you
The $20 Pre-Inspection Report pulls the home's permit record (including city databases where available), reads it against the build year, and gives you a system-by-system "what to expect" — so you know what to look for before you ever book an inspector.